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  • 2015

  • Locher, Miriam A. (2015): Interpersonal pragmatics and its link to (im)politeness research. In: Journal of Pragmatics 86, S. 5-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2015.05.010

    Abstract: In light of the fact that politeness research has been on the map since the 1970s, this paper revisits some of the more recent developments. The scope of analysis has been widened from face-maintaining and face-enhancing data to instances of conflictual and face-aggravating behaviour. There is an increase in discussions about appropriate methodological and theoretical approaches to politeness, and we see a tendency to creatively draw on approaches from other fields (such as identity construction research). These trends have made the field an especially vibrant one that is currently witnessing a struggle to (re)define its focus. Two connected issues (clarifying and refining the scope of our research questions and efforts of developing an interdisciplinary approach within interpersonal pragmatics) are particularly discussed in an endeavour to outline potential research paths. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  • Locher, Miriam A.; Bolander, Brook; Höhn, Nicole (Hg.) (2015): Relational work in Facebook and discussion boards/fora. International Pragmatics Association

    Abstract: This paper functions as the introduction to the special issue on ‘relational work in Facebook and discussion boards’. We position our research endeavors within interpersonal pragmatics (see Locher and Graham 2010), by reviewing literature on politeness, impoliteness and relational work in the context of computer-mediated communication. Foregrounding the relational aspect of language, we are particularly interested in establishing the connections between politeness, face and linguistic identity construction. We then position the four papers that form this special issue within this field of research. Two papers contribute to the study of relational work on discussion boards (Kleinke and Boes; Haugh, Chang and Kádár) and two deal with practices on Facebook (Theodoropoulou; Bolander and Locher).

  • Locher, Miriam A.; Bolander, Brook; Höhn, Nicole (2015) : INTRODUCING RELATIONAL WORK IN FACEBOOK AND DISCUSSION BOARDS In: Locher, Miriam A.; Bolander, Brook; Höhn, Nicole (Hg.): Relational work in Facebook and discussion boards/fora, S. 1-21

    Abstract: This paper functions as the introduction to the special issue on ‘relational work in Facebook and discussion boards’. We position our research endeavors within interpersonal pragmatics (see Locher and Graham 2010), by reviewing literature on politeness, impoliteness and relational work in the context of computer-mediated communication. Foregrounding the relational aspect of language, we are particularly interested in establishing the connections between politeness, face and linguistic identity construction. We then position the four papers that form this special issue within this field of research. Two papers contribute to the study of relational work on discussion boards (Kleinke and Boes; Haugh, Chang and Kádár) and two deal with practices on Facebook (Theodoropoulou; Bolander and Locher).

  • Londoño, Johana (2015): The Latino-ness of type. Making design identities socially significant. In: Social Semiotics 25 (2), S. 142-150. DOI: 10.1080/10350330.2015.1010320

    Abstract: To reflect on current Latino-themed typography in built environments and marketing venues, this paper examines the early 1990s, barrio-inspired typographic design of Pablo Medina, a Cuban-Colombian-American award-winning designer currently working in NYC, in relation to two diverse socio-aesthetic value systems. The first value system is a modernist ideology, which insists that language and expression can be universal and communicate across racial, ethnic, and cultural differences without carrying any particular meaning, bias, or identity. In contrast, Medina's Cuba typeface is in conversation with an ethnic place approach to cultural production that has its origins in 1960s Latino social movements that sought to affirm the cultural value of barrios. This design approach is often associated with postmodern socio-aesthetic preferences that "localize" culture. I argue that this type's articulation with the urban requires rethinking its postmodern categorization. This short article offers a window into new ways of thinking about hand-painted lettering - produced by designers and sign artists - that indexes barrio landscapes.

    Keywords: Design
  • Lorenzi-Cioldi, Fabio; Kulich, Clara (2015) : Sexism In: Wright, James D.: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): Oxford: Elsevier, S. 693-699

    Abstract: This article first reviews the historical rise and the developments of psychological research on sexism which led to the differentiation between biological sex and cultural gender, and highlights commonalities between gender relations and other status-based intergroup relations. Old-fashioned, overt and explicit forms of sexism are then distinguished from contemporary, more subtle, and implicit forms. The latter are characterized by ambivalence of hostility and benevolence toward women. The final section discusses major behavioral consequences of the different forms of sexism, emphasizing the harmful impact of benevolence on women's feelings of self-worth and competence, and actual performances.

  • Loth, Sebastian; Jettka, Katharina; Giuliani, Manuel; Ruiter, Jan P. de (2015): Ghost-in-the-Machine reveals human social signals for human–robot interaction. In: Frontiers in psychology 6. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01641

    DOI: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01641/full 

    Abstract: We used a new method called “Ghost-in-the-Machine” (GiM) to investigate social interactions with a robotic bartender taking orders for drinks and serving them. Using the GiM paradigm allowed us to identify how human participants recognise the intentions of customers on the basis of the output of the robotic recognisers. Specifically, we measured which recogniser modalities (e.g., speech, the distance to the bar) were relevant at different stages of the interaction. This provided insights into human social behaviour necessary for the development of socially competent robots. When initiating the drink-order interaction, the most important recognisers were those based on computer vision. When drink orders were being placed, however, the most important information source was the speech recognition. Interestingly, the participants used only a subset of the available information, focussing only on a few relevant recognisers while ignoring others. This reduced the risk of acting on erroneous sensor data and enabled them to complete service interactions more swiftly than a robot using all available sensor data. We also investigated socially appropriate response strategies. In their responses, the participants preferred to use the same modality as the customer’s requests, e.g., they tended to respond verbally to verbal requests. Also, they added redundancy to their responses, for instance by using echo questions. We argue that incorporating the social strategies discovered with the GiM paradigm in multimodal grammars of human-robot interactions improves the robustness and the ease-of-use of these interactions, and therefore provides a smoother user experience.

  • Luhmann, Niklas (2015) : Ebenen der Systembildung - Ebenendifferenzierung In: Heintz, Bettina; Tyrell, Hartmann (Hg.): Interaktion - Organisation - Gesellschaft revisited: Anwendungen, Erweiterungen, Alternativen: Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 43, Sonderheft: Stuttgart: Lucius & Lucius, S. 6-39

    Keywords: Youssef, Ramy
  • Luna-García, Huizilopoztli; Mendoza-González, Ricardo; Álvarez-Rodríguez, Francisco Javier (2015): Design Patterns to Enhance Accessibility and Use of Social Applications for Older Adults. In: Comunicar 23 (45), S. 85-94. DOI: 10.3916/C45-2015-09

    Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present a non-exhaustive set of 36 design patterns for interactive social applications used by older adults. This proposal represents a reliable starting point for designers/developers to easily incorporate usability in interfaces for said technology promoting technology acceptance, use and adoption among older adults. The proposed patterns were based on previous efforts commonly presented as a design criteria and guidelines to describe usability issues in this kind of interfaces, reinforcing those alternatives by specifying related usability issues and providing solutions in a pattern-fashion useful for designers/developers. Pertinence of the patterns was analyzed through a usability study implementing "heuristic evaluation" technique (frequently used in Human-Computer Interaction to obtain users' perception on a particular design). The study was conducted from two perspectives: the vantage point from experts, and the perception of a social group of older adults. The analysis revealed the proposed patterns are conducive to create well-designed interfaces able to provide a better user experience, encouraging a positive impact in the quality of life in older adults.

  • Luo, R. C.; Wu, Y. C.; Lin, P. H (2015) : Multimodal information fusion for human-robot interaction: 2015 IEEE 10th Jubilee International Symposium on Applied Computational Intelligence and Informatics: 2015 IEEE 10th Jubilee International Symposium on Applied Computational Intelligence and Informatics: Timisoara, Romania: IEEE, S. 535-540

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/SACI.2015.7208262 

    Abstract: In this paper we introduce a multimodal information fusion for human-robot interaction system These multimodal information consists of combining methods for hand sign recognition and emotion recognition of multiple. These different recognition modalities are an essential way for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Sign language is the most intuitive and direct way to communication for impaired or disabled people. Through the hand or body gestures, the disabled can easily let caregiver or robot know what message they want to convey. Emotional interaction with human beings is desirable for robots. In this study, we propose an integrated system which has ability to track multiple people at the same time, to recognize their facial expressions, and to identify social atmosphere. Consequently, robots can easily recognize facial expression, emotion variations of different people, and can respond properly. In this paper, we have developed algorithms to determine the hands sign via a process called combinatorial approach recognizer equation. These two recognizers are aimed to complement the ability of discrimination. In our facial expression recognition scheme, we fuse feature vectors based approach and differential-active appearance model feature based approach to obtain not only apposite positions of feature points, but also more information about texture and appearance. We have successfully demonstrated hand gesture recognition and emotion recognition experimentally with proof of concept.

  • Luo, Songtao (2015): Adorno's View of Life. In: FRONTIERS OF PHILOSOPHY IN CHINA (10/3), S. 444-456

    Abstract: The aim of this article is to reflect on the dialectic of the individual's life and death in terms of Adorno's moral philosophy, specifically through a thorough reading of his Negative Dialectics and other key works on the subject. I hold that there are two aspects of the dialectic of life within the context of Adorno's "nonidentity": one involves exploring the false identification, due to the reification of modern society, of the individual's life experience with her or his death experience, while the other involves preserving the dialectical and irreducible tension between the theoretical contemplation of life and of historical conditions, as well as specific social systems. Heidegger's ontological philosophy concerning Dasein and Kant's categorical imperative will also be discussed in order to fully understand Adorno's moral philosophy and his idea of nonidentity. From my point of view, Adorno's moral philosophy is the prime motivator of his unique concept of nonidentity, and has influenced contemporary political philosophical concepts such as biopolitics (cf. G. Agamben).

  • Lynn, Michael; Starbuck, Mark M. (2015): Tipping customs. The effects of national differences in attitudes toward tipping and sensitivities to duty and social pressure. In: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 57, S. 158-166. DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2014.07.005

    Abstract: Consumers around the world often give voluntary sums of money (called 'tips') to the service workers who have served them, but the set of tipped professions and the amounts tipped to any one profession differ from country to country. One explanation for these national differences in tipping customs is that they reflect national differences in attitude toward tipping, sensitivity to duty/obligation to tip, and sensitivity to social pressure to tip. Furthermore, these variables have been hypothesized to mediate the previously observed effects on tipping customs of national extraversion, psychoticism and neuroticism respectively. Analyses of secondary data found support for these explanations of national differences in tipping customs, but only partial support for their roles as mediators of national personality effects on tipping customs. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed along with study limitations and directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) zitiert von 6

  • Malle, B. F.; Scheutz, M. (2015) : When will people regard robots as morally competent social partners?: 2015 24th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN): Kobe, Japan: IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, S. 486-491

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2015.7333667 

    Abstract: We propose that moral competence consists of five distinct but related elements: (1) having a system of norms; (2) mastering a moral vocabulary; (3) exhibiting moral cognition and affect; (4) exhibiting moral decision making and action; and (5) engaging in moral communication. We identify some of the likely triggers that may convince people to (justifiably) ascribe each of these elements of moral competence to robots. We suggest that humans will treat robots as moral agents (who have some rights, obligations, and are targets of blame) if they perceive them to have at least elements (1) and (2) and one or more of elements (3)-(5).

  • Malle, Bertram F.; Scheutz, Matthias; Arnold, Thomas; Voiklis, John; Cusimano, Corey (2015) : Sacrifice One For the Good of Many? In: Adams, Julie A.; Smart, William; Mutlu, Bilge; Takayama, Leila (Hg.): HRI'15: Proceedings of the 2015 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: March 2-5, 2015, Portland, OR, USA: [New York]: ACM, Associaton for Computing Machinery, S. 117-124

    Abstract: Moral norms play an essential role in regulating human interaction. With the growing sophistication and proliferation of robots, it is important to understand how ordinary people apply moral norms to robot agents and make moral judgments about their behavior. We report the first comparison of people's moral judgments (of permissibility, wrongness, and blame) about human and robot agents. Two online experiments (total N = 316) found that robots, compared with human agents, were more strongly expected to take an action that sacrifices one person for the good of many (a “utilitarian” choice), and they were blamed more than their human counterparts when they did not make that choice. Though the utilitarian sacrifice was generally seen as permissible for human agents, they were blamed more for choosing this option than for doing nothing. These results provide a first step toward a new field of Moral HRI , which is well placed to help guide the design of social robots.

  • Márkus, György (2015): Hegelian recognition. In: Thesis Eleven 126 (1), S. 100-122. DOI: 10.1177/0725513614567342

    Abstract: If we think of recognition as the practical relation consciously enacted by concerned individual subjects as social actors, which allows them to fulfil their intersubjectively valid social roles, this by no means exhausts the significance that recognition is accorded by Hegel. In fact the problem of recognition is central to the understanding and evaluation of Hegel's metaphysical system. Thus a close scrutiny of the presentation of self-consciousness in Phenomenology of Spirit and the interpretative difficulties it poses leads on to the question of the subject and Hegel's distinction between finite, accidental individuals and the true subject in his system: the concept of Spirit, understood not as a separate entity but as a system of relations, objectified in the historical forms of the Absolute Spirit. But what is the price of Hegel's metaphysics of subjectivity? Hegelian recognition signifies the recognition by individuals of recognition in its truth, that is, the self-recognition by finite individuals that they participate in Spirit as the true universal subject to the degree that they recognize their shared world of actions as the world of their own making. Modernity is therefore defined for Hegel as the recognition and realization of 'conscious freedom', whose telos lies in the actualization of universal reciprocal recognition that brings the unfreedom of history to an end. The idea of freedom and the thesis of the 'end of history' remain, however, the preserve of the thinking few. Hegelian recognition and with it Hegel's whole metaphysical system founders on the rock of finitude, on the unfreedom of finite human beings.

  • Martin, John Levi (2015): Thinking through theory. New York; London: W. Norton & Company Inc

    Abstract: Written with students in mind, Thinking Through Theory explores the role of theory in sociology with a focus on good thinking: how to keep from thinking in circles, how to know when we are contradicting ourselves, and how to avoid thinking tautologies are meaningful.

  • Martinez, Luis F.; Zeelenberg, Marcel (2015): Trust me (or not). Regret and disappointment in experimental economic games. In: Decision 2 (2), S. 118-126. DOI: 10.1037/dec0000025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/dec0000025 

    Abstract: Emotional states exert an influence on trust and the reciprocation of trust. The current research found that regret and disappointment, though both negatively valenced, have distinct effects on trust (and trustworthiness). Three experiments showed that regret decreased trust and trustworthiness, whereas disappointment increased them. Regret elicited both lower initial transfers and returns in a trust game. Conversely, disappointment gave rise to both higher initial transfers and returns in the same game. The implications of our results are discussed. The findings once again demonstrate that emotions play a crucial role on decision-making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) zitiert von 19

  • Marx, Gary T. (2015) : Technology and Social Control In: Wright, James D.: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): Oxford: Elsevier, S. 117-124

    Abstract: One aspect of modernization is the use of science-based technology in rule enforcement. In the ‘engineered society,’ an ethos of rationalization is seen in the application of means to ends. The events of 11 September 2001, and the war on terror have brought increased attention to the question, but the increased use of technical means for control reflects continuity rather than disjuncture. Six social control strategies are discussed and illustrated: target removal, target devaluation, target insulation, offender incapacitation, offender exclusion, and identification of offenses and offenders. In complex settings in a democratic society, relying primarily on technology to control human behavior has clear social and ethical limitations. The technology's narrowing of focus may come at a cost of failing to see larger systemic contexts, alternatives, and longer range consequences. The complexity and fluidity of human situations makes this a rich area for the study of trade-off, irony, and paradox. There are some parallels to iatrogenic medical practices in which one problem is cured, but at a cost of creating another. Technical efforts to ensure conformity may be hindered by conflicting goals, unintended consequences, displacement, lessened equity, complacency, neutralization, invalidity, escalation, system overload, a negative image of personal dignity and the danger of the means determining, or becoming ends. zitiert von 39

  • Mas, Salvador (2015): Verecundia, risa y decoro. Cicerón y el arte de insultar. In: Isegoría (53), S. 445-473. DOI: 10.3989/isegoria.2015.053.01

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3989/isegoria.2015.053.01 

    Abstract: Sobre la risa puede hablarse de muchas maneras; cabe, por ejemplo, una aproximación fisiológica, otra psicológica o una tercera sociológica, que los antiguos no desatendieron por completo, si bien Cicerón prefirió investigar sus posibilidades retóricas. A nadie se le oculta la relevancia de chanzas y chistes para disponer a la audiencia de manera favorable o para ridiculizar al adversario; tampoco que esta estrategia, a despecho de su efectividad y por la misma, puede sobrepasar los límites de lo aceptable o de lo provechoso. Cuestión tanto más grave cuanto que el orador puede y debe reírse de asuntos que, considerados en sí mismos, carecen de gracia. La retórica ciceroniana de la risa plantea y desemboca en una ética y una táctica del humor atenta al estudio y posible codificación de los principios rectores de tan poderoso recurso, que debe utilizarse de manera conveniente, adecuada y decorosa (pues de todas estas formas puede traducirse la palabra griega prépon y la latina decorum), lo cual presupone que no siempre es así y, por lo que interesa en estas páginas, que hay risas indebidas, próximas al vituperio, que pueden acarrear dificultades a quien las provoca, pues siempre es peligroso reírse de los poderosos. Cicerón, sin duda, era un individuo que insultaba mucho, con ingenio, gracia y en ocasiones con extraordinaria agresividad.~~~

  • Mascarenhas, Samuel; Degens, Nick; Paiva, Ana; Prada, Rui; Hofstede, Gert Jan; Beulens, Adrie; Aylett, Ruth (2015): Modeling culture in intelligent virtual agents. In: Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 30 (5), S. 931-962. DOI: 10.1007/s10458-015-9312-6

    Abstract: This work addresses the challenge of creating virtual agents that are able to portray culturally appropriate behavior when interacting with other agents or humans. Because culture influences how people perceive their social reality it is important to have agent models that explicitly consider social elements, such as existing relational factors. We addressed this necessity by integrating culture into a novel model for simulating human social behavior. With this model, we operationalized a particular dimension of culture—individualism versus collectivism—within the context of an interactive narrative scenario that is part of an agent-based tool for intercultural training. Using this scenario we conducted a cross-cultural study in which participants from a collectivistic country (Portugal) were compared with participants from an individualistic country (the Netherlands) in the way they perceived and interacted with agents whose behavior was either individualistic or collectivistic, according to the configuration of the proposed model. In the obtained results, Portuguese subjects rated the collectivistic agents more positively than the Dutch but both countries had a similarly positive opinion about the individualistic agents. This experiment sheds new light on how people from different countries differ when assessing the social appropriateness of virtual agents, while also raising new research questions on this matter.

  • Matelski, Monique H.; Hogg, Michael A. (2015) : Group Processes, Social Psychology of In: Wright, James D.: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): Oxford: Elsevier, S. 422-427

    Abstract: Groups lie at the core of the human experience. Group processes encompass such a wide range of phenomena that the social psychological study of group processes has many different focuses. The study of group processes, in general, concerns the cognitive and social causes and consequences of human aggregation. This article provides a history and review of group processes research including information on group formation, group performance, and group decision making; of how people are socialized into groups and roles within groups; and of how groups influence their members through persuasion, leadership, and norms.

  • Mayring, Philipp (2015): Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. 12., überarb. Aufl.. Weinheim: Beltz. Online verfügbar unter http://content-select.com/index.php?id=bib_view&ean=9783407293930

     

    Abstract: Viele Ansätze der »Qualitativen Sozialforschung« bleiben vage, unsystematisch und schwer nachvollziehbar. Die »Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse« hingegen bietet als explizit theorie- und regelgeleitete Analyse die Möglichkeit einer systematischen, strukturierten Arbeit mit unterschiedlichstem sprachlichen Material. Die überarbeitete 12. Auflage beschreibt Grundlagen und Vorgehensweise der »Qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse« auf der Basis der drei Grundformen Zusammenfassung, Explikation und Strukturierung. Dr. Philipp Mayring ist Professor für psychologische Methodenlehre an der Universität Klagenfurt und leitet das Institut für Psychologie und das Zentrum für Evaluation und Forschungsberatung an der Universität Klagenfurt.

  • McCarty, Megan K.; Kelly, Janice R. (2015): Perceptions of Dating Behavior. The Role of Ambivalent Sexism. In: Sex Roles 72 (5-6), S. 237-251. DOI: 10.1007/s11199-015-0460-6

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0460-6 

    Abstract: This research investigates whether ambivalent sexism impacts individuals’ perceptions of what is appropriate and valued dating behavior, as these perceptions may contribute to the perpetuation of traditional dating scripts. Two hundred seventeen undergraduate students from the Midwestern United States read a gender-stereotypic, gender-counter stereotypic, or egalitarian heterosexual dating vignette. Participants made judgments of appropriateness, warmth, and competence separately for the man and woman on the date. Overall, gender stereotypic dates were evaluated most positively, consistent with previous work suggesting that dating behaviors remain gendered. Evidence of the restrictive nature of the masculine gender role was obtained. Men in egalitarian and counter-stereotypic dating scenarios were evaluated negatively in terms of warmth, competence, and appropriateness, thus potentially experiencing backlash effects. Indeed, the man in the gender counter-stereotypic con dition w as rated as less competent, warm, and appropriate than the women, but the man in the gender stereotypic condition was rated as more competent, warm, and appropriate than the woman. Consistent with predictions, those high in ambivalent sexism had more negative reactions to gender counter-stereotypic dating scenarios than those low in ambivalent sexism. However, ambivalent sexism did not predict different reactions towards gender stereotypic and egalitarian dating scenarios, and egalitarian dates were rated as most typical regardless of participants’ ambivalent sexism. Thus, greater acceptance of gender counter-stereotypic dates was observed among those low in ambivalent sexism, and even those high in ambivalent sexism were accepting of egalitarian dating practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

  • McDonald, Rachel I.; Crandall, Christian S. (2015): Social norms and social influence. In: Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 3, S. 147-151. DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.04.006

    Abstract: Psychology has a long history of demonstrating the power and reach of social norms; they can hardly be overestimated. To demonstrate their enduring influence on a broad range of social phenomena, we describe two fields where research continues to highlight the power of social norms: prejudice and energy use. The prejudices that people report map almost perfectly onto what is socially appropriate, likewise, people adjust their energy use to be more in line with their neighbors. We review new approaches examining the effects of norms stemming from multiple groups, and utilizing normative referents to shift behaviors in social networks. Though the focus of less research in recent years, our review highlights the fundamental influence of social norms on social behavior

  • McGeer, Victoria (2015): Mind-making practices: The social infrastructure of self-knowing agency and responsibility. In: Philosophical Explorations 18 (2), S. 259-281. DOI: 10.1080/13869795.2015.1032331
  • McKeown, Jamie; Zhang, Qilin (2015): Socio-pragmatic influence on opening salutation and closing valediction of British workplace email. In: Journal of Pragmatics 85, S. 92-107. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2015.06.012

    Abstract: This paper reports the findings from a study into the variation of (in)formality of opening salutation and closing valediction in the emails of a group of British professionals. Drawing on both the literature and data used in this research, a number of socio-pragmatic factors were identified for exploration in terms of their influence on the (in)formality of opening and closing formulae. With the use of multivariate regression analysis, 387 emails were examined, 2 discrete models built, and 24 independent variables investigated. Results revealed 13 of the independent variables as significant in terms of their impact upon the (in)formality of opening and closing forms. Greater formality of both opening salutation and closing valediction was driven by external communication, and the social distance between parties. Preference for informality of opening salutation was driven by conversational progression, and the use of politeness markers. Preference for informality of closing valediction was driven by conversational progression, and time elapsed between successive email turns. Contrary to the idea that closing and opening forms constitute optional elements of email composition, the results indicated that such devices were not used as mere skeuomorphs of earlier epistolary communication but served deeper socio-pragmatic concerns.

    Keywords: time